[wannabeamomma]

Thanks KMP - you are a doll !!

[ValtheGal]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone.

Still waiting for AF to show to start my stims. Thought it would be today but no sign. Just want to get started, come on!!! Bring on the witch.


KMP - yes it was my first acupunture. I had a really sore head the next day not sure if it was linked. I'll give anything.

Booking myself in for some beauty treatments to relax myself. Going to take 3 weeks off work and I'l going to make the most of it. I think I really need to chill out!!

[kmp0430]

I'm so jealous Val! I wish I had more vacation time from work. You definitely deserve to treat yourself to some R&R Are you doing the 'stay-cation' thing, or going anywhere fun?

My acupuncturist said I wasn't supposed to be sore, but it could've been from the massage part. Not sure what to make of your headache though...maybe you can ask next visit what the side effects of your 1st treatment are supposed to be.

Haven't heard from Trish117 and mak27 in a couple of days...hope you guys are doing OK.

[wannabeamomma]

KMP - Tomorrow is our last BCP !! Yahooo !!

One step closer to the GRAND PRIZE !!

[mom43]

Hi all of you brave women! I am heading into my second IVF. I cycled in May - one day 6 blast, looked great, partially implanted, . Heading into new cycle on Friday 6/12after 2 weeks on BCP. I didn't join a forum last cycle, just read the posts nonstop. It's time for me to jump in and this looks like the group of women I want to cycle with. The guys and women who haven't been through it just didn't do it for me last time (though they tried). So happy to be here.

[kmp0430]

mom43 - Welcome to our group! We're so glad to have you join us!! I'm really sorry about your last cycle...this is my 2nd IVF too (last one was in May for me as well). We transferred 2 grade 8A perfect embies on day3, and were sure it was going to work, but no such luck. These chat boards are wonderful and very supportive, and it definitely does help to talk to others out there who know what you're going through. We have a calendar set up to keep track of each other's important cycle dates...The link is under my signature next to "IVF #2." Feel free to add your dates in! (I also posted on-the-fly instructions in one of my posts.)

Caryn (wannabe) - LOL! I was just thinking that earlier today...I can't wait to be done with those frickin pills!

Does anyone else feel like this day is dragging?

[NightOwl]

Hello to All! I am hoping that it will be okay to join you here even though my ER will be on 07-07. I tried to join another thread but it seemed that everyone talked around me - - it felt kinda lonely.

This will be our first IVF, so I have been reading a lot about what should happen. I am doing 21 days of "anti-baby pills" (I am in another country and everyone in the RE's office refers to them as anti-baby pills and DH and I thought it both cute and ironic - - so we will probably call them that for the rest of our days) and will be finished with them on June 19.

Then on June 20 I will have a birthday and I have this dreaded feeling/silly notion that the passing of the day will cause a rapid drop in my fertility by the next day. Aaargh! I am so tired of hearing about age and fertility. My maternal grandmother had my mother at 44 - - in fact she had two children after 40. My paternal great-grandmother had her last at 48 and so did DH's grandma. I just have to keep reminding myself about this in the next weeks. Heck, I am not even going to be 40 yet, so there has to be a glimmer of hope. LOL

Anyhow, I look forward to getting to know all of you and sharing this journery with you. Wishing all of us tons of

ETA: I added myself to the calendar. Thanks for setting that up KMP. It sure helps visualize where everyone is.

[ValtheGal]

Nightowl (love that name) and Mom34. I just joined myself and already feel at home. This is a great bunch of ladies!

arrived this morning that goodness - never thought I'd say that any time soon. So starting stims tomorrow! So relieved to get started and terrified as well, this just has to work.

Great to be able to share this experience with a number of you who alreay been through the journey. I'm bound to have loads of questions, hope you don't mind??

[ColoGirl]

ladies! So glad you joined our group. We definitely have a great group...very supportive.

Nightowl - you and I have about the same ER date. My ER is estimated to be on 7-6. I'm glad I have someone else in the same time frame as me.

So yesterday and today I have been very down. I'm not sure if any of you other ladies have too, but I am just so worried. Our first IVF didn't go well at all. We didn't even get to do an ET. I so badly want to be a mom and all of my friends seem to get pregnant when their husband just looks at them. I am so excited to try again, but I don't know if my heart can take it if it fails again. Sorry to be a downer, I just needed to vent alittle bit.

[wannabeamomma]

Vent away Cologirl - thats what we are here for.

This is my 1st IVF so I don't know what you had to go thru - but I am guessing I can imagine since I had 5 failed IUI's.

I guess the best thing you can do is the leave the past where it is...in the past. And look forward to a fresh start - a new try - full of positive possibilities.

AFM - today was a good day. Wasn't very moody or down at all. I think I slept better last night too. Just did my Lupron shot. Some days its a breeze - tonight though it stung a bit as I entered the needle in my belly. Now it just looks like a little mosquito bite at the injection site. Usually does down in about a 1/2 hour.

So stupid questions - do we HAVE to get our period before starting stims? Do we start stims always on day 2?
I know my RE said to come in on 6/15 regardless of if I have a period or not.

But once we stop the pills, we should still get a period even though we are continuing the Lupron?

[ColoGirl]

Thanks wannabeamomma. That is great advice. I will definitely do my hardest to focus on new beginnings and move on from the past.

In regards to the Lupron shot, that happened to me a few times as well. Sometimes it didn't hurt at all and then other times it hurt like crazy and I'd have a huge welt for hours.

I'm not sure if you will start your stims even if you don't get your period. That's an excellent question. Hopefully someone else would know.

Yes, once you stop taking the BCP, you will continue to take the Lupron. I took the Lupron up until 2 days before my ER. Every RE is different though.

Thanks again for the advice

[kmp0430]

Night Owl - ! That is a great name for BCPs...it's definitely ironic that we have to take them to try and get pregnant. Wow, that is quite a family history! My maternal grandmother had 9 kids, so I'm hoping some of that got passed down to me and is just waiting to show itself. I should be having my ER/ET somewhere near my birthday, but I'm hoping that that'll bring me a bit of luck.

Val - we definitely don't mind questions...I just hope we can answer them! Wow, starting stims tomorrow...that is fantastic!

Cologirl - Last night, I had a down night as well...this morning I wrote a long email to DH telling him about all my worries and how I don't know what we'll do if this round doesn't work. He called tonight and said that we will keep doing IF treatments for as long as it takes, and that if this cycle doesn't work, maybe we should take a few months off, go on a nice vacation, and then get a 2nd opinion for the next move. But for now, he just wants to focus on this cycle, and just take it a few days at a time. He is awesome...my rock. So let's just take this cycle on and try not to focus on the 'what ifs' just yet. I've also been trying to do some breathing/meditation exercises to get my stress level down.
PS - I know what you mean about friends and their DH's...My older sister is preggers with her 3rd kid in 3.5 yrs (2 of the 3 weren't planned either)...I often feel like it isn't fair that she got all the baby-making genes. But it isn't helpful for me to compare myself with anyone, so I try not to think about it. I know it's a strain on my relationship with her also, but after all this is over, I know it'll get better and more normal.

Wannabe - I remember my RE nurse telling me during the last round that I may or may not get my period after coming off of BCPs, and if I do, it should be lighter than normal. I don't know if everyone starts stims on Day2 though. It's the Lupron that may prevent you from getting your period. But it seems like it's no big deal if you do get it...They'll check if your ovaries have been adequately suppressed during the suppression check u/s and bw. I just had some spotting last time around.

G'Night all!

[ColoGirl]

Kmp - Thank you so much for sharing. My husband has been my rock as well. He said the exact same thing your husband said. If this one fails we are going to go on a long vacation and then try again at the beginning of next year. I don't know what I would do without my husband...he truly is my hero. Thanks again for sharing. I am glad I'm not the only one in a downer mood.

I will continue to pray for all you ladies.

Hope everyone has a wonderful night!

[NightOwl]

Val, I definitely understand the whole notion of being excited, relieved and terrified at the same time. You will have to let us know how your first injections go. Will DH be able to help you? I already know that my DH will not be in the same room. Needles make him queasy and he passes out when he gets shots or they take blood. He even leaves the room when they draw the dog's blood. Yeah, he is all mine!!! His boss kindly offered to come over and administer since he has done it for his wife before but, uh, I think not. lol

Cologirl, yeah, I am right behind you and you are already experienced at this. Glad to have you so close in time. I was reading your signature regarding your first IVF and wondering if they did ICSI the first time or if you will be doing it with the second? The doctor has already told us they will be performing ICSI. I hope you feel better today - - my doctor always stresses how important positive attitude and frame of mind is. I know it is easier said then done.

Wannabe, I have no idea about the period thing. All my doctor told me is that I should get my period about three days after the last anti-baby pill. We will see if it goes that smoothly. I have never missed a period since I started so I certainly hope things don't mess up now. I am not doing Lupron at all. I really don't understand the ins and outs of all the different protocols and sometimes wish I understood a little more but I don't want to have to do this a second time to gain that knowledge.

Luckily we don't have any pregnant friends or many friends with babies that we see often. I have not told very many people about the IVF. My parents know and DH's boss only because DH's time away from work. If it does not work, I don't want people to feel pity for us - - I am kinda strange that way. A few close friends know that we have been seeing a fertility doctor but I don't plan to tell them we are to the IVF stage. I don't want people to be waiting for an outcome especially since many don't know the actual odds of IVF conception. Anyway, there will be no element of surprise for us, so it would be nice to see surprise on someone else's face when we conceive. Believe me when I say our families will be down-right floored - - especially my MIL.

What about all of you? Who have you told?

[kmp0430]

NightOwl - DH and I have just started telling family about our IVF. The first person I told was actually my boss. I was really praying that we wouldn't have to tell family about it, and we could surprise them last round, but it didn't happen. And now it's started getting a bit too stressful to keep the secret, especially since DH's family only lives 20 mins away and they are always having parties and stuff. So far, we've only told his parents and his sister (she lives with us, so she would've found out eventually ). It was kind of a necessity, since he travels so much and wanted to make sure I'm OK. Also, I feel like if a lot of other people know what we're doing, that if it doesn't work, I'll be letting them down, and that's a lot of added pressure. We haven't told any of my family...I'm trying to put it off as long as possible. If we are lucky enough to get pregnant with twins, I think my mom would pass out!

We haven't told any of our couple friends, and plan to keep it that way for now. I don't think I could stand the pity looks either. I told one close friend who is a doctor, and he gets me access to some online medical journals.

I always find it hard to answer when people ask me if we're trying to have a baby. Depending on my mood, I either say "yes" and leave it at that, or tell them it's none of their business (a nice way of putting that is "wouldn't you rather have that news be a surprise?").

Cologirl - how are you doing? You know what helped me during my last IUI and my last IVF...I found a blog written by this awesome woman in South Africa who underwent IF treatments. You have to go back a to her older posts to find stuff about her IF journey because she now has 3 children. But I find her writing to be really honest and understanding: So Close: Surviving Infertility

AFM - taking my last BCP tonight (and hopefully for a LONG time)!!